MTG Arena Announcements: May 4, 2022

Another week means another MTG Arena Announcements blog from Wizards of the Coast! It’s been almost a week since the release of Streets of New Capenna, and a lot of the flashy new stuff was covered in last week’s announcement. Here’s a summary of important points for the patch on May 5 as well as upcoming events:

Alchemy Rebalancing

A few Alchemy cards will be rebalanced in the May 5, 2022 MTG Arena patch, that includes nerfs to cards such as Painful Bond and Citystalker Connoisseur as well as some small buffs to a handful of cards. You can see the full changelog below:

Alchemy Rebalanced Cards

Streets of New Capenna Bug Fixes

A few new cards from Streets of New Capenna had some major bugs (such as Riveteers Charm allowing you to play the exiled cards until the following turn’s end step, rather than the immediate turn) and will be addressed in this patch.

May 2022 Arena Open

The next Arena Open is on May 14, and the format is Streets of New Capenna Sealed and Draft.

Arena Open Event Guide

Play-In Event and Qualifier Weekend

Full details for the upcoming Play-In Event and the Qualifier Weekend has been posted. They are Streets of New Capenna limited:

May 21–22: Qualifier Play-In Best-of-One Streets of New Capenna Phantom Sealed
May 27–28: Qualifier Play-In Best-of-Three Streets of New Capenna Phantom Sealed
May 28–30: Qualifier Weekend
- Day 1: Streets of New Capenna Best-of-Three Phantom Sealed
- Day 2: Streets of New Capenna Best-of-Three Player Draft

MTG Arena and Digital Premier Play 2022: What You Need to Know

We’ll have complete guides and more details regarding the upcoming Explorer Metagame Challenge and Rise of the Five Families Festival.

MTG Arena Announcements, May 4, 2022

PLAY STREETS OF NEW CAPENNA NOW!

Streets of New Capenna is available now on MTG Arena! Catch up on the latest set with the Card Image Gallery, then hop in to play today. Plus, you can get started with the latest cards using the code “PlaySNC” to receive three Store packs of Streets of New Capenna.

ALCHEMY REBALANCING ARRIVES TOMORROW

The newest Alchemy rebalancing changes arrive this week on May 5. Check out the complete rebalancing announcement for all the cards and changes coming to Alchemy and Historic tomorrow.

This game update will also include fixes for many of the Streets of New Capenna card-related issues that were identified during Streets of New Capenna Early Access and over the weekend.

EXPLORE MORE FOR EXPLORER

The Explorer format has launched. The newest format to MTG Arena is live with events and other ways to play. Learn all about the format in the latest State of the Game article and jump in with the Explorer Metagame Challenge later this week, May 6–9. Play Best-of-Three matches to claim gold and Streets of New Capenna packs!

REACH THE MAGIC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

You can now qualify for the Magic World Championship in MTG Arena! The new Premier Play system offers players paths to reach the highest levels of competitive Magic. Check out MTG Arena Premier Play in 2022 for complete details.

ARENA OPEN MAY 14–15

The next Arena Open is next week, featuring Streets of New Capenna Sealed and Player Draft. You can practice now with the new cards to prepare for the event, which will feature two formats:

Day 1 – Streets of New Capenna Sealed (Best-of-One and Best-of-Three)
Day 2 – Streets of New Capenna Player Draft (Best-of-Three)

For this Arena Open we’ve adjusted some of the gem rewards from Day 2 to Day 1, giving more players more rewards even sooner:

Gem rewards on Day 2 for earning 0-5 wins have all been reduced by 5000 gems.
Earning 7 wins on Day 1 in Best-of-One now also awards 5000 gems in addition to Day 2 access.
Earning 4 wins on Day 1 in Best-of-Three now also awards 6000 gems in addition to Day 2 access.
Earning one win on Day 1 in Best-of-Three now awards 1500 gems, up from 1000.

Check out the May 2022 Arena Open article for full event details to be ready!

MTG ARENA‘S FIRST PLAY-IN EVENT

Our first Qualifier Play-In event, which can earn you an invitation to this month’s Qualifier Weekend, is set for May 21! Compete in Best-of-One Phantom Streets of New Capenna Sealed matches for prizes, and reach six wins for an invite to the May 28–29 Qualifier Weekend!

What can you qualify for? Learn about the $200,000 Arena Championship with our MTG Arena Premier Play announcement to learn all the ways you can secure a seat at a Qualifier Weekend.

FAMILY MEANS BUSINESS—AND FESTIVALS!

Get ready to fete the five crime families of Streets of New Capenna! The Rise of the Five Families Festival explores each family’s particular way of doing business and exposes how they ascended to the ritzy heights of New Capenna’s upper crust.

What’s in it for you? Here’s the deal: you can score golden age showcase card styles that’ll prove you’re a big shot and not some chump with a lot of chin music.

Each event’s format is Alchemy Singleton with Best-of-One matches, but with a unique emblem twist inspired by each family!

The first two events feature the Maestros and the Obscura back to back.

Rise of the Maestros: May 12–15

Emblem: “Once during each of your turns, you may cast an instant or sorcery spell from your graveyard by sacrificing a creature in addition to paying its other costs. If a spell cast this way would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead.”

Card styles:

Rise of the Obscura: May 15–18

Emblem: “Whenever you attack, target attacking creature connives.”

Card styles:

Find complete details on the Rise of the Families Festival events page!

JUMP IN! PACKETS UPDATED

The release of Streets of New Capenna brings with it a new set of Jump In! packets. View the latest packet additions!

Event Schedule

Midweek Magic

Midweek Magic events begin on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. PT and end on Thursdays at 11 a.m. PT.

May 3–5: Streets of New Capenna Bot Draft
May 10–12: Standard
May 17–19: Artisan
May 24–26: On the Edge
May 31–June 2: Historic Pauper

QUICK DRAFT

April 29–May 13: Kaldheim
May 13–27: Streets of New Capenna
May 27–June 10: Strixhaven: School of Mages
June 10–24: Streets of New Capenna
June 24–July 8: Innistrad: Midnight Hunt

Arena Opens

May 14–15: Mixed Limited Streets of New Capenna
- Day 1: Sealed, Day 2: Traditional Draft

Upcoming Events

April 28–May 20: Sealed Streets of New Capenna
May 6–9: Explorer Metagame Challenge (Best-of-Three)
Streets of New Capenna Rise of the Five Families Festival
- May 12–15: Rise of the Maestros
- May 15–18: Rise of the Obscura
- May 18–21: Rise of the Cabaretti
- May 21–24: Rise of the Riveteers
- May 24–27: Rise of the Brokers
- May 27–June 2: Turf Brawls (details coming soon!)
May 20–23: Streets of New Capenna Constructed
May 27–30: Standard Metagame Challenge

Premier Play Schedule

Qualifier Play-Ins:

May 21–22: Qualifier Play-In Best-of-One event
- Streets of New Capenna Phantom Sealed (Cards are not added to your collection.)
- Earn all six wins in this Play-In event to secure a seat at the May Qualifier Weekend!
May 27–28: Qualifier Play-In Best-of-Three event
- Streets of New Capenna Phantom Sealed (Cards are not added to your collection.)
- Earn all four wins in this Play-In event to secure a seat at the May Qualifier Weekend!

Qualifier Weekend:

May 28–30: Qualifier Weekend
- Day 1: Streets of New Capenna Best-of-Three Phantom Sealed (Cards are not added to your collection.)
- Day 2: Streets of New Capenna Best-of-Three Player Draft (Cards are not added to your collection.)
- Check out the May 2022 Qualifier Weekend event and entry details to learn more.

MAY 2022 RANKED SEASON

The May 2022 Ranked Season began April 30 at 12:05 p.m. PT (19:05 UTC) and ends on May 31 at 12 p.m. PT (19:00 UTC).

Bronze Reward: 1 Streets of New Capenna pack
Silver Reward: 1 Streets of New Capenna pack + 500 gold
Gold Reward: 2 Streets of New Capenna packs + 1,000 gold + Sleep with the Fishes card style
Platinum Reward: 3 Streets of New Capenna packs + 1,000 gold + Sleep with the Fishes card style + Hostile Takeover card style
Diamond Reward: 4 Streets of New Capenna packs + 1,000 gold + Sleep with the Fishes card style + Hostile Takeover card style
Mythic Reward: 5 Streets of New Capenna packs + 1,000 gold + Sleep with the Fishes card style + Hostile Takeover card style